Microsoft Documentation
PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language built on the .NET Framework. It is designed for system administrators and power users to easily execute commands and scripts to perform administrative tasks.
PowerShell operates on the principle of objects rather than plain text. This means that commands (called cmdlets) don't just output strings; they output .NET objects with properties and methods. This allows for much more structured and powerful data manipulation.
Cmdlets are the fundamental commands in PowerShell. They are typically verb-noun pairs, such as Get-Process, Set-Location, or Stop-Service. This naming convention makes it easier to discover and understand available commands.
The PowerShell pipeline (represented by the pipe symbol |) allows you to chain cmdlets together. The output of one cmdlet becomes the input of the next, enabling complex operations to be performed sequentially. For example:
Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.CPU -gt 100} | Sort-Object -Property CPU -DescendingPowerShell providers allow you to access data stores in a consistent way, similar to how you navigate the file system. Examples include the Registry provider for accessing the Windows Registry and the Variable provider for managing PowerShell variables.
PowerShell Remoting enables you to execute PowerShell commands on remote computers. This is a powerful feature for managing distributed systems and performing tasks across multiple machines efficiently.
There are two main branches of PowerShell: Windows PowerShell (built on .NET Framework) and PowerShell (built on .NET Core, now .NET), which is cross-platform. This documentation primarily covers the latest, cross-platform version unless otherwise specified.
PowerShell is used by a wide range of IT professionals, including:
For interactive help, use the Get-Help cmdlet within a PowerShell session. For example, Get-Help Get-Process will provide detailed information about the Get-Process cmdlet.
To begin with PowerShell, you can download and install it on your preferred operating system. Once installed, you can open the PowerShell console or use PowerShell ISE (Integrated Scripting Environment) to write and run scripts.
Refer to the Getting Started section for detailed installation and setup instructions.